


Just Drive

by That_Is_Americas_Ass



Series: Stranger Drabbles [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Background Harringrove, Billy Hargrove Redemption, Driving Lessons, Everyone Lived Past S3, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff, Good Billy Hargrove, Good Sibling Billy Hargrove, Implied Harringrove, Sibling Bonding, The camaro is fine, mentions of neil hargrove - Freeform, mentions of the party - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 12:02:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20339797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_Is_Americas_Ass/pseuds/That_Is_Americas_Ass
Summary: Billy teaches Max how to drive.That's it.Max just has one question...why now?





	Just Drive

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the 3rd part of this series! This addition revolves solely around Max and Billy. I will say that this is very short and not as good as I would have hoped, but I couldn't get this idea out of my head so here we are. 
> 
> Post S3, Everyone Lived! 
> 
> Post S3, where everyone lived and Billy managed to survive his wounds. This takes place over a year later after the Party has straightened everything out back to normal and tried to move on past the horrors of the Upside Down.   
Also, I know Billy's camaro in the show is not a stick shift, but let's just pretend it is. 
> 
> Enjoy!

"You remember everything I told you?"

Max sat in the driver seat of the camaro, getting a feel for the wheel as she adjusted her seat and checked the mirrors, still reeling at the fact she was getting to drive Billy's precious car!

"Quit daydreamin' and focus, Max." Billy chided her sternly, holding the keys in his hand until he was sure Max knew what she was doing. 

"Sorry, I just can't believe you're letting me drive."

"After the last time you drove my car you should feel lucky I'm even letting you sit in it," Billy grumbled. 

Max groaned, "Your never gonna let me forget that are you? It was _one_ mailbox."

"You nearly tore the headlight out not to mention you scratched the driver side fender!"

"Which I helped you fix!"

"Not the point, shitbird!"

Max rolled her eyes and went back to making any adjustments she needed, ignoring Billy's glower. He had been grilling her on everything she knew about driving the camaro. It had been a slow start, he'd explained the gears and the clutch, the sifter, when to brake and when to downshift so as not to grind the gears. He'd made her listen to the gears and tell him when she thought he needed to shift on the drive over, quizzing her once more. She knew to listen to the engine instead of reading the gauges, Billy explaining how the sound of the engine revving would tell her when to shift up or down. 

She picked up on everything rather quickly. For as long as Billy had owned the camaro, Max had been sitting shotgun so she knew just about everything there was to know about the car. 

When Billy had told her he was going to teach her how to drive she'd been ecstatic. Aside from the one night of driving after the fight at the Byers' house, Max had never driven anything. Billy promptly told her that there would be no more joyrides in his baby that leave it dented and scraped up! 

_If you're gonna drive my car you're gonna learn to do it right._

So, here they were, parked on a backroad outside of Hawkins in the middle of Autumn. The weather was mild and the leaves were changing color to match Max's hair, it was why the fall was her favorite time of year.

Billy still wasn't crazy about the changing seasons. He preferred the hot sun and blazing beaches of California over cornfields and humid air. 

He really couldn't wait to blow this place. 

"Alright, we're gonna start out slow. Let the car idle for a minute and don't take off until you're comfortable. Got it?" 

Reaching over, Billy slid the key into the ignition and started her up. The soft purr of the camaros engine flooded the silence around them as it rumbled to life. 

"Remember, slow on the clutch or you'll kill it. Whenever you're ready," he instructed calmly, lighting up a cigarette and letting Max take over.

Max was grateful Billy didn't push her or force her to do anything quickly, letting her set her own pace. She'd had that problem with Neil. Her step-father had been making comments about how Max was old enough to get a job and that she needed to learn how to do more _womanly things_ like her mother. It was annoying, and it had become almost a daily argument between them. Max never had that issue with Billy, he let her do what she wanted and often encouraged her to do whatever she set her mind to. 

Billy was far more patient than his dad. 

God, Max didn't even want to imagine what learning to drive with Neil as her teacher would have been like. 

Shifting nervously with excitement, Max nodded a few times and looked over to her brother, "I think I'm ready."

"Take off."

* * *

They drive down a few back roads and Billy makes any minor corrections. He lets her get a feel for the camaros power. It's a hot rod, muscle car with an engine built for breakneck speeds, not leisure drives down country gravel roads.

Max was thoroughly enjoying herself if the blinding smile was anything to go by. She soon felt safe enough to turn the radio on and blast out some Motley Crue, belting out _Girls Girls Girls_ in time with the music. 

Billy probably should have been concerned with how well Max knew all the words to a song about strippers.

After almost an hour and half of winding up and down country roads, gassing it on a lone straight stretch just for the fun of it, Max eventually pulled over so Billy could take over. Falling into the passenger seat, Max felt giddy. It was probably the most fun she'd had with her brother since _ever_. 

"Not bad, kid. Pretty damn good for your first run."

Max preened at the praise while Billy pushed the driver seat back and readjusted it for himself, grumbling _short shit_ under his breath. Pulling out of the backroad and onto the highway, the duo headed back for Hawkins to grab a bite to eat. 

Burgers and fries sounded pretty damn good.

They rode in silence for awhile before Max worked up the courage to ask the question that had been rolling around her head since Billy offered to teach her. She hadn't wanted to ask earlier for fear of him taking back his offer, preferring to wait until they finished, just in case.

"Why now?"

"Why now what?"

"Why did you want to teach me now?"

"Been thinkin' a lot lately," he began, blowing smoke out the window. He didn't look at her but Max knew he was trying to think of how to word what he wanted to say. The radio is the only noise between them. She can tell that Billy is obviously uncomfortable with the topic of conversation.

Eventually, Billy seemed to come up with an answer that doesn't make him sound like he's going soft.

_God forbid..._

"I've got cashed saved up. We've got another year before you can drive legally. By next summer, I should have enough saved up to get back to California and find a place. Won't be easy, but..." he trails off, shifting in his seat restlessly. 

Max stays quiet, knowing by the way he grips the wheel and continues to fidget that he isn't finished. Billy takes another drag of his cigarette before looking at her. 

"If I'm gonna look after us both I ain't gonna have time to drive your ass everywhere, shitbird."

_No way._

Max felt her face almost split in two from smiling so hard. Just because Billy didn't actually _say_ the words doesn't mean they weren't implied. 

Billy planned on moving back to California and he was taking Max with him. 

_Holy shit!_

As much as she enjoyed Hawkins, evil hell-gates aside, she missed the sand covered beaches of California. The boys would be upset if she left but there was no reason they couldn't come visit, plus she could talk to them every day on the phone. 

They could make it work. 

Max wondered if Steve would come with her and Billy to California. Neither Steve nor Billy were aware that she knew about their little rendezvous, but it was kind of hard to ignore the scent of Steve's expensive cologne and sex-stench that had soaked into the leather backseat of the camaro. 

Plus, the _WHAM!_ cassette in the glove-box did not belong to Billy. 

She'd never be able to listen to _Careless Whisper_ ever again...

She wanted to scream in excitement just thinking about it all! She missed California, it was her home. She was a beach baby just like Billy. It was just something that stayed in your veins. However, looking at her brother now, Max could tell that anything too emotional would only cause him to throw up his walls, so she decided to go easy on him and settled for a noncommittal hum. 

"So back to California?" she grinned, turning up the radio dial. 

Billy smirked while taking another drag, "One more year, kid."

"And then we'll go home?"

"Then we'll go home."

_Fin_

**Author's Note:**

> Told you guys it was short...
> 
> Not the best addition, but again, I couldn't get this picture out of my head. Hope it was worth it!


End file.
